The Stanford Cardinal take the field as they prepare to take on the...

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Stanford's Noor Davis, (3) sprints to the sidelines after a third quarter interception,as the Stanford Cardinal went on to beat the UC Davis Aggies, 45-0 at Stanford stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday Aug. 30, 2014.

Stanford's Ty Montgomery, (7) was all smiles after a productive day, as the Stanford Cardinal went on to beat the UC Davis Aggies, 45-0 at Stanford stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday Aug. 30, 2014.

Stanford head coach David Shaw walks the sidelines, as the Stanford...

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Stanford quarterback Evan Crower, (5) looks to throw in the second half, as the Stanford Cardinal went on to beat the UC Davis Aggies, 45-0 at Stanford stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday Aug. 30, 2014.

A pass just out of reach for Stanford's Francis Owusu, (4) as he is defended by the Aggies Nate Walker, (31) in the fourth quarter, as the Stanford Cardinal went on to beat the UC Davis Aggies, 45-0 at Stanford stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday Aug. 30, 2014.

A pass just out of reach for Stanford's Francis Owusu, (4) as he is...

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Stanford's Barry Sanders, (26) looks for running room in the fourth quarter, as the Stanford Cardinal went on to beat the UC Davis Aggies, 45-0 at Stanford stadium in Palo Alto, Calif., on Saturday Aug. 30, 2014.

Ty Montgomery scored the first time he touched the ball. So did freshman Christian McCaffrey. Michael Rector celebrated a starting assignment with a long TD catch. Kevin Hogan threw three TD passes and scored himself on a scramble.

Except for the sizzling heat, things couldn't have been better for No. 11 Stanford on opening day.

The Cardinal showed an arsenal of offensive weapons and didn't let outclassed UC Davis across midfield until the final play. Their 45-0 pummeling of the Aggies extended the nation's longest active home winning streak to 17 games.

South Carolina held that distinction with an 18-home game streak until it lost to Texas A&M on Thursday.

Now, of course, life gets tougher for the Cardinal. They play No. 15 USC unusually early in the season, next Saturday at Stanford Stadium.

Head coach David Shaw addressed that topic in the locker room after Saturday's game, and Hogan relayed his sentiments:

"It's not the Super Bowl, as some people might think. It's the next big game on our schedule."

The Cardinal bolted to a 38-0 halftime lead, and for a while it was the Ty Montgomery show.

He returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown just under three minutes into the game. "The guys made good blocks, and I was able to find a seam and hit it," he said.

He later caught a short pass from Hogan, and, given his speed and power, the play had touchdown written all over it as soon as he caught it with a head of steam.

Rector started at wide receiver in place of Devon Cajuste, who was suspended for one game for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Rector hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass.

Then there's McCaffrey. According to Shaw, some of his fourth- and fifth-year players said when training camp started that they couldn't wait to see McCaffrey play.

"You see why," Shaw said. "He's dynamic, tough, physical."

And very fast.

The son of former Stanford and NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey came out of the backfield, caught a short pass and sprinted 52 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. He also uncorked a 41-yard punt return to set up a touchdown.

Asked if he was expecting such a performance in the freshman's debut, Shaw said, "The answer should be no, but the answer is yes."

He said he wanted to pull McCaffrey off the kickoff coverage unit following his touchdown to give him a breather. "He looked at me and smiled and said, 'I'm not coming out,' " Shaw said.

Backup quarterback Evan Crower took over for Hogan early in the second half and threw a 14-yard scoring pass to redshirt freshman Austin Hooper in the fourth quarter. The former De La Salle-Concord star made a leaping catch in the rear of the end zone.

UC Davis, led by former Cal assistant Ron Gould, was missing its top two tailbacks because of injuries. Gould didn't name his starting quarterback, London Lacy, until game day.

Lacy, under constant harassment, completed 12 of 22 passes for just 54 yards. Two of his throws were picked off by Noor Davis and Peter Kalambayi. The Aggies weren't any more successful on the ground, netting just 61 yards in 27 carries, a 2.3-yard average.